Part 1
PANGAEA - Part 1 is the first chapter of the main storyline revolving around the citizens of the Kingdom of Veridian and the Republic of Caro as tensions rise and conflict erupts between the two nations. Plot Act I Prologue On the border of the Kingdom of Veridian, the Sentinels of the Tree Guard, Maleev Silvanus and his wife Atia, are preparing for the hatching of their child. While deciding on a name, they are interrupted by a guard warning them of a incoming threat. A large group of Caronians, led by a female Utahraptor named Saylii, attack the outpost. Maleev rushes in to lead the defense while Atia stays inside with the slowly hatching egg. The Tree Guard are quickly overwhelmed and Maleev is subdued by Saylii. General Carnotor Talon arrives shortly after and approaches Maleev, taunting him. He notices the Sentinel's home and goes to investigate, finding the egg before it is quickly snatched by Atia, who runs for her life as Carnotor pursues her. He manages to slash her across the stomach but she continues to flee until she's cornered right at the edge of a waterfall. Rather than confront the general, she jumps off the cliff. Assuming she and the egg will not survive, he returns to the outpost and orders a retreat, but not before having Maleev and the remaining Tree Guard executed. Down the river, a weakened Atia uses the last of her strength to push her egg onto the shore before succumbing to exhaustion and her wound. Some time later, King Virion and Queen Amara arrive in response to being alerted of the incident. Amara hears the sound of a crying baby and investigates, finding the egg and wrapping it in her cloak. A little clawed hand comes out of the cracked opening and grabs Amara's finger, and she names the baby Shaara. ... Twenty years later, Shaara has grown up to become Captain of Royal Guard and is summoned to the palace to meet up with Prince Acheron. Soon after, they prepare themselves for the arrival of Queen Amara and the whole family dine together. Acheron quickly notices Shaara's surprisingly excessive eating habit that she claims is merely hunger after a long day but he decides to take her to Augur to be examined. The physician confirms that Shaara is pregnant and this news alarms the two as they then try to decide on how to break the news to the Queen. But Acheron assures Shaara that they won't worry about that yet and that they should enjoy some time together to celebrate the news. Meanwhile in Apex City, Allodon scolds Carnotor for his past actions. Carnotor then kills Allodon and begins his plans for taking over Caro. They begin by first announcing to the population of Caro that Allodon had died of natural causes while Saylii slaughters all the remaining election candidates in secret. Carnotor declares himself Emperor and promises a bright new future for the whole of Pangaea and that the first step is to (*insert motive). Act II Back in Veridian, Acheron and Shaara spend some time alone in their private spot, a small lake surrounded by loads of trees, hiding it very well. They reminisce on their secret relationship until they notice smoke in the distance. Realizing where it's coming from, they rush over there as quickly as possible. The smoke is coming from one of the outer villages that is less well protected from another Caronian attack lead once again by Carnotor and Saylii. Acheron and Shaara arrive shortly afterwards but are quickly separated by a collapsed burning house. Alone, Shaara is suddenly ambushed by Carnotor. She briefly defends herself, but nightmarish flashbacks cause her to fall over backwards and allows Carnotor to subdue her. Acheron comes to the rescue with reinforcements lead by his uncle Ajax. In the ensuing fight, Shaara confronts Carnotor and manages to disarm him. Despite his taunts, she refuses to kill him, claiming that she'll never be like him. Carnotor leaps on her and they have one last fight, ending his Shaara unintentionally stabbing him in the lower stomach with her claws, causing him to plummet off the roof of the small house they were on. Noticing this, Saylii orders a full retreat while she gets the unconscious Carnotor to safety. At the Palace, Ajax along with Acheron and Shaara report what just happened. Despite her initial disappointment that they got themselves in danger, it is quickly replaced with relief at knowing that their safe. It's at the moment that both Acheron and Shaara reveal the secret of Shaara's pregnancy. But instead of getting angry, Amara is nothing short of delighted at hearing the news and announces that the whole kingdom should celebrate this happy day. Before the head outside, Amara orders a large shipment of resources to Caro as a piece offering. After all the arrangements have been made, Acheron and Shaara get married and declare their love for one and other in front of the whole kingdom. The celebration lasts way into the night Meanwhile in Caro, Saylii takes Carnotor up to the laboratory situated up a spire. Inside, Karom, the Caro's top scientist examines Carnotor and is able to stabilize his condition. Unwilling to perform a non tested experiment on him, he instead decides to test it out on a recently captured Pterosaur. Some time later, Karom successfully completes his experiment and decides it's the right time to try it out on the barely living Carnotor. Before he tests it on Carnotor, the frightened Pterosaur escapes. Karom's procedure nurses Carnotor back to full health but at a cost, his body has changed to a larger more beastly appearance. Satisfied with his new body, Carnotor orders another excursion into Veridian territory in order to "test out" his new form. No longer needing to keep their relationship secret anymore, Acheron and Shaara spent more time together in public. They play around at the top of a large hill overlooking a huge amount of the Veridian forests. When Shaara playfully pushes Acheron off the back of Zub, he assumes that she's planning an ambush, but without warning he is grabbed by the large pterosaur. He is then saved by Shaara on the back of Zub and the latter wrestles the flying beast to the ground. Shaara calls off Zub and approaches the frightened creature. It backs away into a large, causing a large fruit to fall on it's head, knocking it out. It wakes up a few moments later, surprising the couple with it's sudden ability to speak. He begins panicking when he realizes what he looks like but Shaara is able to calm him down enough for them to all make proper introductions. He names himself Pteryga as that seems to be the only thing he remembers. Fascinated by his large wings, Shaara suggests that they go for a quick flight to clear his mind. Pteryga dives off a cliff with an eager Shaara and a frightened Acheron on his back as he then soars into the sky. Shaara is delighted to see the "whole world" from high above while Acheron would rather be back on the solid ground. After they land, Pteryga seems to remember what happened to him. He tells them about how the squadron under his command were killed one after another but he was captured and then experimented on. Acheron decides that they should head back to tell Amara of what they've learned. Back at Tempskya, Amara hears the news that they have just received several larges carriages supposedly filled with valuable resources as a token of appreciation. But when the carriages are opened, they are in fact filled with many caronians soldiers who begin slaughtering every Veridian in their way. Amara rushes down to the courtyard and leads the main defense against their invaders. Shortly afterwards, Carnotor emerges out of the final carriage and easily overpowers Amara's bodyguards. They both draw their swords and begin to duel which leads them all the way back into the throne room. Acheron and Shaara arrive on the back of Pteryga and help shift the tide in their favor. Carnotor overpowers Amara and tosses her to the floor. Before he can deal a mortal blow, Vira throws a shield at him which distracts him long enough for Amara to leap at him, smashing them against a pillar which causes the ceiling the crumble. Shaara arrives just in time to get most of the family out before the entrance is fully blocked, trapping both Amara and Carnotor inside. Before Acheron and Shaara can reach her, Amara is grabbed by Carnotor and smashed to the ground. Acheron breaks his way in as Carnotor lifts the barely conscious Amara into the air. Everyone behind Acheron drop their weapons but instead of letting Amara go, Carnotor stabs her in the gut with the sharp blades on his gauntlet. He throws her body towards the group and smashes his way through and escapes. Amara dies shortly afterwards, surrounded by all of her children, Shaara included. After the funeral, Acheron becomes the new King of Veridian but his marriage with Shaara complicates things as it goes against tradition. But the Veridian council allows her to remain by Acheron's side. Act III Meanwhile, Carnotor returns to Apex city feeling triumphant. As he discusses further plans with Saylii, they overhear singing from within the city itself. Many caronians too are in mourning for Amara and show their respect for her. Carnotor orders any resistance to be drawn out and forced to fight for him or die. Saylii arrives at a popular inn to recruit any caronians willing to join the army but the innkeeper is outraged by this and briefly fights her on the street where he is promptly executed for treason. Furious at this, Paellax, a performer at the inn, decides to take matters into her own hands and visits Carnotor with the intent of finding out information to help the Veridians. Back at Tempskya, Acheron's first major order is the prepare their army for a counter attack on Apex City. Pteryga leaves before Acheron and Shaara can ask where he is going. They all set off on a long journey through the dense forests of Veridian until they reach the border and rest in order to prepare for the final stage of their voyage. Later that night, they are surprised by the arrival of Paellax who offers them a map of Caro's defenses and her promise that many will help them once Carnotor has been dealt with. Acheron and Shaara initially wish her to go to Veridian to keep her safe but she refuses to leave her people to Carnotor's rule. That night, they all look through the map and discuss battle tactics. Noticing Acheron's distraught face, Shaara orders everyone out of their tent so that he can get some rest. She comforts him and they spent what could very well be their last night before battle. They arrive in the middle of Caro where they can see the outer perimeter of Apex city. As they approach, hundreds of Caronian soldiers of all shapes and sizes line the top of the walls while the main gate opens to allow a large army to walk out and form a defensible position. Saylii orders a first wave of riders to charge towards the Veridians. Acheron orders some catapults to fire a first volley of rocks that come crashing down upon the riders. In their moment of confusion, it leaves enough time for Acheron to give a speech to his troops and he then leads the charge. As battle commences, Saylii orders the gates to be opened and let them have a little surprise they had reserved for them: an army of Berserkers waiting for them behind the doors. They begin smashing their way through the charging Veridians but Acheron on the back Zub with Shaara in the front lead a charge through the gate and into the city. In the confusion, Acheron gets knocked off Zub and is surrounded, but is saved by Vira who forces him to leave her. Vira then faces off against Saylii who quickly kills her which is witnessed by a horrified Acheron. Shaara finds Acheron and all three of them continue their journey through the city. They begin climbing stairs to goes up the Spire. They are ambushed by falling rubble that separates Acheron from Shaara and Zub. Full of rage and vengeance, Acheron calls out to Carnotor who lunges at him out of nowhere and the two of them battle whilst continuing upwards towards the higher levels of the tower. Shaara and Zub manage to push the rubble out of the way and attempt to follow Acheron but are attacked by a Caronian on the back of a giant bat. Shaara kills the rider and Zub snaps the neck of the bat which sends both of them plummeting downwards, away from Shaara. Acheron is overpowered but before Carnotor can deal a deadly blow, Shaara jumps on top of him from behind. He angrily tries to rip her off his back and smash his weapon down on her. Having wedged his weapon on the floor, he grabs Shaara by the neck and raises his other fist, ready to strike. Acheron leaps on Carnotor's other arm, trying to pull it away from Shaara, but he merely tosses him aside and throws a powerful punch to Shaara's stomach, sending her flying across the room and slaming onto the floor. Livid, Acheron grabs his sword and slices Carnotor's arm off and slashed him across the face. He runs towards Shaara only to find her unresponsive. Whilst Acheron holds Shaara's body in his arms, Carnotor slowly makes his way towards the machine where he was experimented on and injects a large amount of Karom's solution in him which causes to transform into a horrific feral beast. Back outside, Pteryga suddenly arrives with a the whole Caelum army and help change the tide in the Veridians favor and he begins his search to find his two friends. Acheron gets up and steps between Shaara and the feral Carnotor. He engages him, trying to draw his attention away from Shaara who begins to slowly wake up. Acheron is horribly wounded from a powerful slash of Carnotor's claws and Shaara leaps onto the beast's head before he can kill Acheron. Acheron tries to get up but his wound is preventing him from doing so. He realizes there is only one way to defeat Carnotor and decides to fight fire with fire. Injecting a large amount of the formula into himself, he transforms in a feral form similar to that of his ancestors and battles Carnotor again. Carnotor once again overpowers him but is then distracted by Pteryga who dives towards him and manages to puncture one of his eyes. His jaws snap down on Pteryga and he is sent flying towards the wall and lands as a heap on the floor. Shaara gets up and grabs the Veridian royal sword and battles the half blinded Carnotor. She is quickly disarmed and Acheron saves her but is mortally wounded by Carnotor. Outraged, Shaara grabs the sword and charges towards him, plunging the sword right into Carnotor's other eye. Howling in pain, Carnotor blindly smashes around in his panic. Then Acheron with his remaining strength, pushes Carnotor off the building, sending the beast falling to his doom. Down below, as soon as everyone realizes that that was the body of Carnotor, all of the Caronians who were against Carnotor reveal themselves and those who supported Carnotor flee from the city. Acheron collapsed on the ground and dies next to Shaara, but not before placing his front foot on Shaara's stomach, showing how despite his current form, is still the Acheron she fell in love with. Pteryga grabs Shaara and both of them start flying back to Veridian. Back home, Shaara tells the family of what happened she decides to continue to rule as Queen not only her late husband but for her unborn child and the whole of Veridian. Epilogue During the epilogue, Shaara is crowned in front of the whole kingdom. She orders the reconstruction and repairs of anything that was damaged during the Caronians attacks. She lays her egg which hatches into twins whom she names Solis and Luna. Main Characters * Shaara Silvanus * Acheron Pentasauros * Carnotor Talon * Saylii * Pteryga * Amara Pentasauros * Paellax * Allodon Talon